“You Met My Ambassador”

2020 ◽  
pp. 314-341
Author(s):  
Brianna R. Cornelius ◽  
Rusty Barrett
Keyword(s):  
Predominantly White ◽  
Gay Men ◽  
Double Bind ◽  
Black Communities ◽  
Gay Identity ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Self Monitoring ◽  
Linguistic Resources ◽  
Gay Male ◽  
Black Gay Men

This chapter focuses on race, sexuality, and self-monitoring by exploring the language practices of black gay men. We show how black gay men use language to creatively navigate the double-bind of homophobia in some black communities and the widespread racism found in predominantly white gay male communities. In our analysis of the speech of one black gay man (Bakari), we examine how he monitors his language and comportment as he constructs a black gay identity. Bakari creates the persona of an “ambassador,” which affords him more acceptance within discriminatory contexts, at least temporarily. We show how individuals who are both sexual and racial minorities use a complex set of linguistic resources in order to navigate the harmful, discriminatory discourses that they face in their daily lives.

The voice of others: Identity, alterity and gender normativity among gay men in Israel

2012 ◽  
Vol 41 (2) ◽  
pp. 187-211 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erez Levon
Keyword(s):  
Lived Experience ◽  
Gay Men ◽  
Macro Level ◽  
Male Sexuality ◽  
Gay Identity ◽  
Social Categories ◽  
Gay Male ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Voice

AbstractThis article presents an analysis of a slang variety, called oxtšit, as it is described and used by a cohort of gay men in Israel. Unlike many previous analyses of gay slang, I argue that the men described do not use the variety to help construct and affirm an alternative gay identity, but rather that they use it as a form of in-group mockery through which normative and nonnormative articulations of Israeli gay male sexuality are delineated. It is suggested that this discussion has implications for sociolinguistic understandings of “groupness” more broadly, and particularly the relationship between macro-level social categories (like “gay”) and individual lived experience. (Gay slang, Israel, vari-directional voicing, identity/alterity)*

scholarly journals Identity Collision: Older Gay Men Using Technology

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Avi Marciano ◽  
Galit Nimrod
Keyword(s):  
Gay Men ◽  
Communication Technology ◽  
Advanced Age ◽  
Gay Identity ◽  
Cultural Constructs ◽  
Gay Male ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Older Gay Men ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Depth Interviews

Abstract This study examines identity work among older gay men in relation to Information and Communication Technology (ICT). It draws on the notion of IT identity—the extent to which individuals experience technology as integral to their sense of selves—to explore how their homosexuality and advanced age shape their relationships with technology. Applying thematic analysis to 17 semi-structured, in-depth interviews with gay male users aged 66–81, we show that while homosexuality and technology enable and reinforce one another, the relationship between technology and advanced age can be better defined by alienation and estrangement. Consequently, we argue that technology constitutes a crossroads at which the gay and elder identities intersect and collide. In this sense, technology is similar to other cultural constructs, like sexuality, that challenge the merger of advanced age and homosexuality, rendering the older gay identity almost impossible.

Invisible Black Gay Men

2007 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen L. Gresham
Keyword(s):  
Gay Men ◽  
Black Gay Men

Never Too Old To Feel Good: Happiness and Health among a National Sample of Older Black Gay Men

2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 1
Author(s):  
Battle ◽  
Daniels ◽  
Pastrana ◽  
Turner ◽  
Espinoza
Keyword(s):  
Gay Men ◽  
National Sample ◽  
Black Gay Men

Gay (White) Male Speech and the E(race)sure of Identity

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brianna R. Cornelius
Keyword(s):  
Racial Identity ◽  
Language Use ◽  
White Male ◽  
The United States ◽  
Gay Identity ◽  
Community Based ◽  
Language Varieties ◽  
Gay Male ◽  
Men Of Color ◽  
African American Language

Although a notable body of work has emerged describing gay male speech (GMS), its overlap with African American language (AAL) remains comparatively understudied. This chapter explores the assumption of whiteness that has informed research on gay identity and precluded intersectional considerations in sociolinguistic research. Examining the importance of racial identity, particularly Blackness, to the construction of gay identity in the United States, the chapter investigates the treatment of GMS as white by default, with the voices of gay men of color considered additive. The desire vs. identity debate in language and sexuality studies contributed to an understanding of gay identity as community-based practice, thereby laying a necessary framework for the study of GMS. However, this framework led to a virtually exclusive focus on white men’s language use. Although efforts to bring a community-based understanding to gay identity have been groundbreaking, the lack of consideration of intersectionality has erased contributions to GMS from racially based language varieties, such as AAL.

scholarly journals Sexuality in Later Life and Mental Health Among Older Black Gay Men

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 313-314
Author(s):  
Darlingtina Esiaka ◽  
Alice Cheng ◽  
Candidus Nwakasi
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Gay Men ◽  
Later Life ◽  
The United States ◽  
Mental Wellbeing ◽  
Self Identity ◽  
Sexual Identities ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Black Gay Men

Abstract Self-acknowledgement and integration of racial and sexual identities are significant to one’s overall sense of identity because of their implications for mental health and wellbeing. These issues are important as one ages because older people experience a wide range of factors that add layers to their ability to (re)integrate subsets of their identity into their overall self-identity such as age and age-related disabilities. This study examined the intersection of race and sexual identities on overall health status in older Black gay men, a demographic group that has historically received less attention. Data from the Social Justice Sexuality (SJS) survey of LGBTQ+ people of color which occurred over a 12-month period in the United States were analyzed. Participants (N=160), 50 years and over, responded to questions about their sexuality, social identity, family dynamics, community connection and engagement, and mental and physical health. Results show an association of mental wellbeing with racial and sexual identities. Further, results show that a strong sense of connection to other sexual minorities is positively associated with mental health in older Black gay men. We discuss the implication of findings for mental health interventions targeting this gendered population.

Fun with Dick and Dick: Homosociality on r/MassiveCock

Sexualities ◽  
2020 ◽  
pp. 136346072096130
Author(s):  
Rhiannon Bury ◽  
Lee Easton
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Discourse Analysis ◽  
Gay Men ◽  
Hegemonic Masculinity ◽  
Gay Identity ◽  
Cultural Shift ◽  
Content Sharing ◽  
And Function ◽  
Selection Of

Social media and content-sharing platforms provide new opportunities for the circulation of not only professional and amateur porn productions but also “pornographic self-representation”. This study examines the interactions that occur when male pornographic self-representation is shared in an inclusive space that welcomes both straight and gay men to post dick pics and gaze/comment on them. Focusing on the Reddit forum, Massive Cock, we conducted a discourse analysis of a selection of posts, comments and account profiles collected over a seven-month period. Based on our findings, we contend that Massive is a homosocial space where homoerotic dick gazing reaffirms and disrupts the heterosexual–homosexual binary. Our findings point to an uneven dynamic in which the majority of the posters perform a straight identity, whereas the majority of commenters perform a gay identity. Their comments serve to disrupt hegemonic masculinity and, in turn, create a space that welcomes mostly straight and bi-curious performances of masculinity. Such performances are possible due to recent cultural shift away from homo-hysteria and towards a more inclusive heteromasculinity. Collectively these performances produce an inclusive “fraternity of the cock”, but it is one which maintains a heterocentric focus and function.

scholarly journals Gay men in the performing arts: Performing sexualities within ‘gay-friendly’ work contexts

Organization ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 365-382 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nick Rumens ◽  
John Broomfield
Keyword(s):  
Queer Theory ◽  
Gay Men ◽  
Performing Arts ◽  
Male Sexuality ◽  
Organization Studies ◽  
Gay Male ◽  
Depth Interview ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Male Sexualities ◽  
Work Contexts

Building on emerging research on ‘gay-friendly’ organizations, this article examines if and how work contexts understood and experienced as ‘gay-friendly’ can be characterized as exhibiting a serious breakdown in heteronormativity. Taking the performing arts as a research setting, one that is often stereotyped as ‘gay-friendly’, and drawing on in-depth interview data with 20 gay male performers in the UK, this article examines how everyday activities and encounters involving drama school educators, casters and peers are shaped by heteronormative standards of gay male sexuality. Adopting a queer theory perspective and connecting with an emergent queer theory literature in organization studies, one concern articulated in this article is that heteronormative constructions of gay male sexualities constrain participants’ access to work; suggesting limits to the abilities and roles gay men possess and are able to play. Another concern is that when gay male sexualities become normalized in performing work contexts, they reinforce organizational heteronormativity and the heterosexual/homosexual binary upon which it relies. This study contributes towards theorizing the heteronormative dynamics of ‘gay-friendly’ places of work, arguing that gay male sexualities are performatively instituted according to localized heteronormativities which reinforce contextually contingent, restrictive heteronormative standards of gay male sexuality which performers are encouraged to embody and perform both professionally and personally.

scholarly journals The Paradoxes of PrEP: Rejection, Reluctancy, and Novel Gay Identities in Biomedical HIV Prevention in Serbia

2022 ◽  
pp. 34-51
Author(s):  
Zoran Milosavljević
Keyword(s):  
Hiv Prevention ◽  
Gay Men ◽  
Hiv Transmission ◽  
Gay Identity ◽  
Hiv Status ◽  
Social Significance ◽  
Gay Communities ◽  
Hiv Status Disclosure ◽  
Status Disclosure ◽  
Hiv Negative

This article explores the different ways in which gay men in Serbia perceive PrEP as a novel method of HIV prevention. In the article, I draw on data from my research on PrEP use among thirty gay men in Belgrade. The use of PrEP is still very low amongst gay communities in Serbia due to their rejection of PrEP and due to the stigma around PrEP use. In Serbia, the social significance of PrEP relates to HIV status disclosure on gay social/dating media. Paradoxically, on gay dating sites, the signifier "PrEP" blurs the line between HIV positive gay men – who have achieved undetectable HIV status through a potent ARV therapy – and those HIV negative gay men who use PrEP as a preventative tool against HIV transmission. In the article, I will argue that a new form of gay identity has emerged on gay dating apps in Serbia – "undetectable, on PrEP." This new identity emerges from confusion in HIV risk assessment. The use of PrEP has been seen as a marker to denote someone’s HIV negative status and to protect them from HIV transmission. However, some gay men with an undetectable HIV status would like to be regarded as HIV negative even though they are not, and thus they use the signifier "on PrEP" to highlight their desire to claim an HIV negative status. PrEP has many symbolic valences: from HIV status disclosure to assumed promiscuity. As I will argue, while the health paradigm is of utmost importance for Serbian gay men, internalized stigma additionally drives the low uptake of PrEP amongst gay communities in Serbia, thus contributing to the confusion regarding PrEP use and the overall approach to HIV prevention. This article finds that those respondents who accept PrEP without stigma or confusion regarding their HIV status are also more willing and ready to recommend using PrEP to other gay men.

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